about

Erstwhile Mezcal

Erstwhile Mezcal is a mezcal importer based in Brooklyn, New York and Oaxaca, Mexico. We specialize in artisanal and ancestral mezcal.

More than a mezcal brand, Erstwhile is a platform for the core values and social missions that our founders believe in: mezcal education, brand transparency, promoting small family producers to an international audience / fan base, empowerment of women in the mezcal / wine & spirits industry.

We set ourselves apart from others in several ways. First, the family producers we work with are independent family businesses. They are Erstwhile’s partners, not employees. We pay our partner mezcaleros fairly. We do not ask them for exclusivity or discounts. We care about our mezcalero partners’ economic empowerment and put our money where our mouth is. We seek out mezcaleros who are interested in exporting out of Mexico, but do not have the means to do so on their own. We help them get certified and licensed for export. We feel good about the fact that we help our mezcalero partners clear these hurdles from the get-go, independent of their work with us in the future.

Unlike family-owned brands, we are not encumbered by loyalty to any particular family. When you support Erstwhile, you support not just one but all the family producers we partner with.